Receiving feedback

When you've written a text, it's often useful to get someone to help you: ... Someone who reads the text, and gives you feedback, both in term of what works well, and what can be improved. ... Someone who gives you feedback on your text - a respondent. Maybe you've received feedback some time? Perhaps it made you angry, or sad?

That's not strange. Because it's not that easy to receive feedback. It might even feel as if your writing is bad and might as well be thrown away. But you don't need to get angry nor sad, nor throw away your text. The feedback is about your text, not about you as a person.

And you've written something that isn't finished yet. Feedback is a way of helping you to improve your writing. If you learn to receive and make use of feedback, your writing will be better, and you will develop as a writer. Think of it as going through four steps, when you receive feedback. ... Go through them calmly and methodically, one step at a time. ...

Then it will feel easier to receive feedback, and it will be more useful to you. Step one: Start by paying attention to the comments that are positive, and be happy about them. You have written something that someone else appreciates and thinks worthwhile! It's easier to receive a suggestion for improvement when you know there are good aspects to your text. Step 2 Now review the comments concerning things you can improve.

Perhaps the reviewer thinks there is something in the text that is hard to understand, or that can be phrased better. Now, you might get angry. ... Or sad. ... Or feel you need to explain yourself, ... or defend your text.

Take a deep breath. Remind yourself that the comments are there to help you. Then take another deep breath. If there is something you don't understand, you can ask the respondent, and let them give you a more detailed explanation. But only ask if you really want to know something.

Don't start arguing or defending yourself. Step three: Take a break. When you have understood the comments you have received and have all your notes gathered, it's a good idea to rest your thoughts and emotions for a while. Go for a walk. Step four: Now it's time to decide which suggestions you want to make use of.

Which points in the feedback do you think can develop and improve your text? You don't need to address everything the respondent has pointed out. Choose for yourself the things you believe are going to improve your text. But remember: Sometimes, the comments that upset you the most can turn out to be the ones that help you the most in developing your text. If you let several people provide feedback, you'll get different opinions that might contradict each other.

That can be good and interesting, as it gives nuance to the feedback. ... But it's still your text; and at the end of the day, you decide how it reads. Bravo! Now you have received feedback calmly and methodically. Remember to thank your respondent, who has done their best to help you develop and improve your text.

Now you can get on with it!